Since the invention of photography in the nineteenth century, Africa has been defined largely by Western images of its cultures and traditions. From the colonial carte de visite and ethnographic archive to the rise of studio portraiture and social documents of racial surveillance, the fraught relationship between Africa and the photographic lens has become inseparable from the discourses of post-colonialism.

Challenging these dominant images of exoticism and otherness, this book illustrates how photography has allowed artists to reimagine African histories through the lens of the present, to shape our understanding of the contemporary realities we face.

Bringing together a diverse range of artists and thinkers to present varied perspectives on issues such as cultural heritage and restitution, spirituality, urbanism and climate change, it reveals how innovative contemporary photography challenges perceptions of history, culture and identity.